Sierra County: Home of Spaceport America

Above: Virgin Galactic’s “chief astronaut instructor” Beth Moses describes her first test flight on Feb. 22, 2019, on VSS Unity's second spaceflight. She worked for NASA on the assembly of the International Space Station and is designing the 3-day training program for Virgin Galactic’s future space tourists

What is it?

Spaceport America is the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport designed and constructed specifically for commercial users. What differentiates Spaceport America from other spaceports is that the facility had not previously been used as an airport or federal infrastructure of any kind.

The site is built to accommodate both vertical and horizontal launch aerospace vehicles, as well as an array of non-aerospace events and commercial activities.

Spaceport America is not owned by Sir Richard Branson, as has been frequently misreported in the media. The facility is owned and operated by the State of New Mexico.

The facility is frequently used for STEM education projects for students of all ages.

Spaceport America was designed and built utilizing the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED NCv2.2 program as the framework for the sustainable development of the facility. The LEED Rating System is generally recognized as being the most prominent set of sustainability guidelines in the United States by emphasizing strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.

Why is it in Sierra County?

Spaceport America is situated on 18,000 acres adjacent to the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range and boasts 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace. Restricted airspace is required so that launches from the facility do not interfere with commercial and private air traffic.

At an elevation of 4,595 feet, Spaceport America has an advantage over other sea level spaceport locations. A higher elevation puts launches almost a mile closer to space, saving energy and fuel.

When will Virgin Galactic launch its space tourism flights?

Virgin will launch after all possible testing has been done to protect the safety of their passengers.

In its third journey with high-powered rockets (and 14th test flight overall), the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo hurtled into the Earth’s atmosphere at Mach 2.47, more than twice the speed of sound and much faster than it’s previous Mach 1.9.

“The Federal Aviation Administration has granted Virgin Galactic a commercial license to operate its SpaceShipTwo — the latest milestone in the aspiring spaceline’s quest to one day fly from New Mexico’s Spaceport America.”

“Anderson had the challenge of keeping the spaceport going without the anticipated revenue from Virgin Galactic, which is still paying its lease, but is not attracting visitors to the spaceport or generating revenue through launches.”

Space tourism and suborbital travel have huge promise. As home to the only place in the nation besides the White House that has protected airspace from ground to infinity, New Mexico should understand that.

Lots of people want to get in on the nascent space flight market. States and locales as diverse as Hawaii, Georgia, Alabama, and Puerto Rico are eyeing the possibility of building a spaceport, but New Mexico’s Spaceport America is already near completion and has launched 19 vertical launches so far.

Did you hear about the September 25 event at Virgin Galactic in Mojave? The one where Richard Branson entertained 300 future astronauts? Spaceport America’s Executive Director Christine Anderson was there.

Spaceport America’s newest tenant is SpaceX, the creator of “Grasshopper” – a rocket that is able to return to the launch pad intact for a vertical landing, rather than burning up upon reentry in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Raton students traveled to the State Capitol in Santa Fe earlier this year to participate in the 2013 Legislative Session and the passing of the Limited Liability bill that was so crucial to Spaceport America’s success.

Got a need for speed (and a spare $9,000 hanging around)? Then come September 2013, you could be one of only 10 lucky people to get to drive the world’s fastest car, a Bugatti Veyron, 200 mph at Spaceport America. Check out the informational video – and our favorite part, the drivers-seat view of speeding […]

Spaceport News the week of February 21, 2013: the Informed Consent bill, after “rocketing” through the New Mexico House of Representatives and the Senate , was due to land on the Governor’s desk, and WIRED Magazine is about to feature some great shots of Team Virgin at Spaceport America.

From Christine Anderson: “January has been an action packed month. We started out with our 18th vertical launch from the spaceport. We achieved a major milestone–we gave Virgin Galactic the keys to the Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space on January 15 and correspondingly they started paying rent.”

John Arthur Smith: “Our state has the opportunity to become a global leader in commercial space flight. Over the past five years, our state has invested over $200 million in taxpayer money to build the world class Spaceport America east of Truth or Consequences. Its purpose has been achieved – New Mexico is positioned to be the nation’s leader in space travel…”

Do you fly on Virgin Galactic? If you do, here’s a reason to hang on to those frequent flyer miles! As reported in US News & World Report, Virgin Airlines Frequent Flyers can earn a ticket to fly to space from Spaceport America: Here’s a video outlining the details of the offer…after the commercial of […]

Spaceport America officials announced that they successfully launched the 10th rocket from the launch site 35 miles southeast of Truth or Consequences / Elephant Butte on April 6, 2012 at approximately 8:18am. The rocket reached an altitude of 73 miles or 385,640 feet – a new Spaceport America altitude record. The primary payloads were reportedly […]

"Armadillo Aerospace launched its third STIG-A test rocket from Spaceport America to an altitude of about 50 miles (82 kilometers) on Jan. 28. A test of a balloon-parachute recovery system (“ballute”) was not fully successful, but the Armadillo team was nevertheless able to recover the vehicle. Armadillo says its next test launch will go beyond […]

The media got its first look at the inside of SpaceShipTwo on March 30, 2011. See the article – which also includes a video of the reporter’s tour of the inside of the terminal hangar at Spaceport America – on the BBC website.

Tours are being conducted to Spaceport America as construction allows. Cost is $59 per person; tour time is approximately 3 hours. Tours must be prebooked. This video about the tours aired on KRQE News 13: